Pocopson Township
Chester County, Pennsylvania
 

8:45 a.m., December 13, 2004

Sellers opened the meeting at 8:48 a.m. and dispensed with the pledge of allegiance.  Supervisors Brutscher and Hubbard were in attendance.  Absent was Bill Harwood, Director of Public Works and Building Inspector.

Announcements:
Brutscher reported that KARPC would not meet in December.

Sellers reported that the Township’s County Grant Task Force met at 4:00 p.m.on Thursday, December 9th to discuss the preparation of ordinances to protect natural resources in the township as per the County Grant.  The task force committee will meet again on January 13^th at 4:00 p.m. and February 10^th at 4:00 p.m.

Open Space Committee Report:  Hubbard reported the OSC is continuing to work on grants for trails and will hold their regular committee meeting tomorrow night.

Winterwood / Escrow Release No. 3:  Brutscher moved, Hubbard seconded to approve escrow release No. 3 for $94,253.00 in connection with improvements at the Winterwood subdivision.  This release includes an inspection fee of $1,805.00.  Motion carried with all in agreement.

Brutscher / Minor Subdivision Extension:  Sellers moved, Hubbard seconded to extend the subdivision approval of the Brutscher minor subdivision plan, last revised November 29, 2000, until March 30, 2005.  Georgia Brutscher recused herself.  Motion carried.

Sellers commented that the zoning protections in terms of net acreage requirements for residents who were granted conservation easements prior to the new ordinances should be amended by early next year.

Resolution #16 of 2004:  Brutscher moved, Hubbard seconded to accept Resolution #16 of 2004 that adds tax parcels 63-3-117 and 63-3-117-01 totaling 12.359 acres owned by Bruce B. Yelton to the existing Agricultural Security District.  Motion carried with all in agreement. 

Waddington / Minor Subdivision Extension:  Brutscher moved, Hubbard seconded to extend the Bill Waddington minor subdivsion plan until February 16, 2005 to allow Mr. Waddington more time to complete unfinished items.  Motion carried with all in agreement.

Other Business:
Township Solicitor, Ross Unruh, sent a letter dated December 7^th  about the MPC Amendment that townships can now legally require applicants to reimburse the township for professional consultant fees which includes legal fees.  Unruh suggested adopting a schedule of fees for the professional consultants by resolution each year.  Brutscher said she would contact Unruh and ask him if Zoning Hearing Board fees could be charged back to the applicant. 

The Board also discussed Unruh’s December 10^th letter reviewing the procedures for road vacation.  Brutscher asked the secretary to ask Harwood to flag the proposed gate location at the end of Sheck property and flag 25’ northwest of the driveway servicing lot #3 of the Thompson subdivision.  It was discussed by the Board that Harwood will need to review the Wright minor subdivision plan to determine the location of the hammerhead that is going to be located just past the Wright’s new driveway.  The secretary said she would inform Harwood of the Board’s discussion. 
The Board agreed to invite residents bordering Larkin-Baily Road and Bragg Hill Road to the January 3^rd Board meeting at 8:00 p.m. to discuss any concerns related to vacating these roads.   Brutscher noted that Fenza should be notified of the proposed road closing and invited to this meeting also. 

Public Comment:  Mrs. Solaway, a resident on Denton Hollow Road, presented a letter dated December 7, 2004 discussing resident opposition to the communications tower that would be located on township property currently being proposed by Nextel Communications.  Hubbard suggested to Mrs. Solaway to have the residents on Denton Hollow Road who support this document sign it.

Roads and Buildings:  No report. 

Baily Farm/Corinne Village:  Frone Crawford, Esq.; Jim Brandolini and Mr. Balbirnie, applicants; along with several consultants were present to discuss wastewater facilities with the Board of Supervisors.  There was a discussion on how much land is required for the proposed lagoons for the treatment of sewage.  Also discussed was the size and location of the harvestor that would be used for wastewater storage.  A representative from Little Washington Company expressed concern about treatment lagoons and drip irrigation systems from the standpoint of freezing.  Sellers said the township does not want to deal with sludge; and operating costs and capacity are a serious consideration.  Kelso, Castle Valley Consultant, said storage and dewatering the system are areas of concern.  Crawford asked if it would be possible to take the treated sewage off-site, and if the Board was aware of any property owner who might be interested in an easement that would allow this.  Sellers proposed approaching the BVA with a proposal.  Sellers pointed out that if DEP were to agree to the 262 gallons per day per household, there should be plenty of land to accommodate the lagoons.  Brandolini said their engineer will be resubmitting their plan in January and would like to be on the January PC agenda.  Brutscher agreed that the applicant should go before the planning commission with their next submission. 

Minutes of November 22, 2004:  Brutscher moved, Sellers seconded to approve the minutes of November 22, 2004 as amended.  Motion carried. 

Budget 2005:  Sellers asked the secretary to contact the township solicitor and request him to prepare the resolution necessary to collect the occupational privilege tax (which has been changed to the ‘Emergency & Municipal Services Tax’) at the recently passed rate of $52 per person, and change the proposed 2005 budget to reflect the additional income.

Treasurer’s Warrants:  The warrants were approved and signed as submitted.

Adjournment:  The meeting was adjourned at 11:20 p.m.   

______________________                                        ________________________
Karen J. Eckard, Secretary                                           H. William Sellers, Chairman